As the construction sector continues to boom in Chile, international polymer flooring manufacturer, Flowcrete Americas, has launched its specialist urethane flooring technologies into the emerging Latin American market.

Under a partnership with Productos Cave, the Euclid Chemical’s company in Chile, Flowcrete Americas plans to promote, manufacture and distribute a range of seamless urethane systems across Chile, with a particular focus on the emerging food and beverage as well as healthcare and medical research sectors.

Packaged under the Flowfresh brand, the material has been designed for clients who need to consider reliability, safety and cleanliness across large areas of production and processing.

A key consideration of the material is to help clients protect working environments from harmful contamination build up at ground level. Under an exclusive global partnership, the silver based antimicrobial additive, Polygiene®, is incorporated within Flowcrete’s Flowfresh systems to inhibit the generation of bacteria on the surface of the floor by up to 99.9%.

Polygiene works by continuously emitting powerful silver ions that destroy gram-positive or gram-negative bacteria that it comes into contact with.

In addition to an enhanced hygiene performance, all systems within the Flowfresh range offer excellent chemical, thermal shock and slip resistance as well as high levels of durability and a strong, easily cleaned and maintained surface.

The robust and seamless nature of these systems has been designed to avoid gaps or cracks appearing in a facility’s floor. 

This offers a significant performance advantage when compared to epoxy coats, acid and anti-slip ceramic tiles, which remain popular throughout the Latin American market, as these are prime sites for unwanted pathogens to accumulate and can lead to contamination penetrating the clean barrier.

“For Flowcrete Americas, emerging markets are the hot topic, because that’s where the growth is,” said managing director for Flowcrete Americas, Dave McNeece. “At Flowcrete, we are excited to be bringing our urethane flooring solutions to the Chilean market alongside one of our well-established RPM sister companies. Our Flowfresh range remains our most popular across North America and has enjoyed a track record of success with U.S. clients spanning more than two decades thanks to its innovative antimicrobial technology.”

Flowcrete’s relationship with local partner, Productos Cave, and the subsequent launch of the Flowfresh material within the Chilean market was consolidated at a recent seminar dedicated to ‘New Flooring Technologies’ hosted at The Chilean Construction Association.

Flowcrete Americas technical director, Grant Adamson, introduced a number of architects, specification professionals, engineers and material applicators from across the country to the new Flowfresh technology, including the lifecycle cost-saving efficiencies the higher performance product offers to clients over a five and ten year period.